The scene in the mirror was still appalling.
This time, the main brain had shown no mercy at all, completely exposing the deepest reaches of the hive.
There was no light, only the faint green glow of the fungal mats barely illuminating the underground cavern.
A bloated mother queen waved her barbed foreclaws, furiously tearing at the cracked carapace on the back of a nearby mutilated male.
The only human feature left on Gu Chenyuan were his eyes, embedded in the insectoid body. Gone was the arrogance of old, replaced only by numbness.
They retained their human memories and aesthetics, but were trapped in the base shells of insectoids. Forced to submit to primal instincts, endlessly reproducing, even devouring their own kind.
It was a truly absolute punishment.
Day after day of torment had long since driven these two mad. Now, they weren't even monsters, just a stinking pile of flesh rotting in the mud.
Jiang Lijin tapped the metal edge of the command console.
"Main brain, open two-way comms. Project my image over there."
A beam of white light flickered to life deep within the hive.
Jiang Lijin's hologram materialized in midair.
She wore a black combat suit, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail, posture straight and commanding, her expression nonchalant yet carrying an air of lofty indifference.
Su Wanwan froze.
Her massive body stiffened in place, her compound eyes locked onto the humanoid figure hovering before her.
In those dark, sunless years, she had cursed Jiang Lijin countless times, fantasized that she had died on some garbage planet long ago, suffered a fate even worse than her own.
But why? Why did Jiang Lijin still exude pride from every strand of hair, while she herself was condemned to stay in this dark, godforsaken hell forever?
Jiang Lijin spoke. Her voice, relayed through the main brain's translator, echoed through the hive.
"Long time no see," she said, tilting her head slightly, her tone as casual as if discussing the weather. "That new skin suit you're wearing? Quite distinctive. Perfect match for the two of you."
Su Wanwan threw back her head and let out a piercing shriek. The sonic wave sent nearby low-ranking insectoids scattering in retreat.
She saw not only Jiang Lijin but also the men standing behind her.
Baal wore a look of pure irritation, his golden slitted eyes fixed coldly on the screen, radiating top-tier intimidation. Tianyan leaned casually nearby, long fingers idly playing with an energy pistol, a mocking smile on his lips. Tianque stood at the side, hand resting on his blade, his crimson eyes staring ahead as if at lifeless objects.
Each of these men exuded the overwhelming presence of dominant alpha predators. They formed an unyielding wall of protection, enclosing Jiang Lijin at the center.
Su Wanwan's colossal body began to spasm violently. A rancid, viscous fluid dripped from her maw, burning holes into the fungal mat below.
The beauty and cunning she had once prided herself on—reduced to nothing before Jiang Lijin.
"Jiang Li!" The mother queen's roar, filtered through the main brain, rang harshly through the bridge. "I'll kill you! I'll drag you down here, make you rot in the same mud as me!"
On the ground, pretending to be dead, Gu Chenyuan struggled to lift his head.
His clouded compound eyes fixed on the hologram in the air.
The girl who had once looked at him with such adoration now stood at a height he could only dream of reaching.
The look in her eyes as she regarded him held no hatred, no resentment, only indifference—as if he were a rock by the roadside.
That dismissal hurt worse than killing him.
Gu Chenyuan thrashed, trying to crawl, trying to open his fanged maw to call her name, to beg for help, to say he regretted everything.
But when he opened his mouth, all that came out was a flood of reeking acidic vomit.
The devolution into insect form had long destroyed his vocal cords. He couldn't even speak a single human word.
In despair, he stared at Jiang Lijin, trying to drag his broken body forward.
He had barely extended one forelimb when—
"Snap."
A crazed Su Wanwan stomped down, crushing his insect leg.
"You still want to look at her? You disgusting insect!"
Su Wanwan used her massive bulk to press down on Gu Chenyuan. Green ichor leaked across the ground. The two monsters tore at each other in the mire, pathetic beyond belief.
Jiang Lijin watched the sordid spectacle coldly, not even a flicker of emotion stirring within her.
Baal grimaced with revulsion. His large hand reached out, blocking Jiang Lijin's view with a slight gesture.
"Trash like that isn't worth dirtying your eyes. I can barely stand to look at them."
Tianyan stepped forward, draping an arm casually over the back of Jiang Lijin's chair, letting out a soft chuckle. "Boss, your old acquaintances really hit rock bottom."
Jiang Lijin ignored their teasing. She stared at the screen and uttered a few quiet words:
"Kill me? You think you're worthy?"
She had deliberately spoken those provoking words, and they served as the final straw breaking the mother queen's frayed sanity.
Su Wanwan threw back her head again, unleashing a screech of utter despair—the highest directive a mother queen could issue.
"At any cost! Tear her apart!"
With that command, the entire insectoid swarm across the Death Nebula erupted into a frenzy.
Just then, Tinia's voice cut into the comm channel, the background filled with the roar of Cloudfall Group's starliner engines.
"Sister, I see the radar data. The insectoids are deploying their full force. Quite a sight, actually." Tinia's voice remained cheerful, with even a hint of boasting. "But don't worry. I've mobilized Cloudfall's private fleet. We might not have the combat experience of the military, but hey—I've got money!"
As he finished speaking, the space at the edge of the Death Nebula began to fold. Hundreds of heavy battleships bearing Cloudfall Group's insignia leaped into view.
These ships were built from the most cutting-edge materials in the galaxy, their weaponry outclassing even the regular military's.
As soon as the jump completed, their main cannons finished charging in sync.
Blinding white light cut through the dark void. Hundreds of massive beam lances pierced the densest flank of the swarm. Equipment bought with real cash—one volley alone vaporized tens of thousands of low-tier insectoids.
Soon after, Chiron's calm, deep voice followed.
"Lijin, go ahead and do what you need to. I've got your back." His tone was gentle yet carried unwavering authority. "I'm keeping the capital planet locked down. No one will interfere with you. As for those old farts in the Federation Council, I've already sent someone to invite them for some 'tea.'"
Chiron worked with a thoroughness that brooked no oversight. He knew Jiang Lijin hated having people disrupt her from the rear mid-battle, so he simply nipped every potential problem in the bud.
Jiang Lijin rubbed her wrist-mounted communicator, a warmth flowing through her heart.
She was no longer the Jiang Lijin of years past—the lone girl who could be bullied without backup. Now, she had family, she had foundation.
The star cruiser's radar blared with alarms.
On the screen, the red dots representing insectoids multiplied instantly, condensing into a crimson tide.
The insectoid swarm abandoned its defensive formation. All units pivoted to charge straight for this single super-dreadnought. A fully suicidal, mindless assault.
Outside the bridge, the emptiness was filled with shadows. The swarm rammed without care for their own lives, scattering nearby asteroids into dust. Low-tier insectoids felt no pain. They smashed into the vessel's shields again and again.
Green bodily fluid sprayed into the vacuum, clinging to shield surface, sizzling with corrosive hisses.
"Port-side fire network, full coverage engagement." Tianyan stared at the screen and issued the order.
Thousands of high-energy laser beams erupted from the flank of the Star Destroyer, slicing the approaching swarm into pieces.
"Firepower alone won't be enough." Baal unleashed his psychic energy without reservation.
The materialized psychic energy expanded instantly in space, transforming into a massive black serpent phantom that blotted out the stars.
The violent serpent coiled and strangled in the vacuum, its colossal tail sweeping through the swarm and crushing hundreds of high-ranking insect generals into paste.
The black serpent rampaged through the swarm, brutal and bloody—a true madman.
Tianyan and Tianque exchanged a glance and, with a tacit understanding, stepped forward together.
"Boss, we'll stretch our limbs too." Tianyan smirked, his green eyes gleaming with bloodthirsty light.
Tianque said nothing, only lowered his head and gently rubbed his forehead against Jiang Lijin's shoulder, like a beast seeking solace before battle.
The next second, two top-tier psychic energies—identical in origin yet distinct in nature—erupted in space. Twin dragon phantoms, one black and one white, twisted into form in the void.
The twin dragons' fighting style was a perfect fusion of art and slaughter.
The white dragon cut through the insect tide like a frozen blade, carving through space itself; hidden insects were bisected before they could even reveal themselves.
The black dragon, wreathed in destructive emerald poison flames, exhaled dragon’s breath, instantly incinerating vast swathes of insectoids.
The two dragons spiraled and intertwined, forming a death storm like a meat grinder, shredding every wave of the insect tide that tried to approach the Star Destroyer.
Jiang Lijin stood at the center of the command platform, slowly closing her eyes.
She unleashed her psychic energy without holding back. Her vast, pure purifying force flowed through the quantum network built by Xiao Yi, instantly linking the consciousness of all allied forces across the battlefield.
Frontline soldiers, who had been restrained by fears of insectoid contamination and teetering on the edge of berserk rage, suddenly felt a stream of cool spring water surge into their psychic seas. Agitated nerves calmed, and the shadow of contamination dispersed in an instant.
Her psychic sea, like a gentle vortex, endlessly provided solace and guidance to the soldiers on the front lines.
"Fear no contamination—fight without restraint!" Jiang Lijin’s cold, clear voice echoed in the minds of all officers.
With an absolute guarantee of purification, the S-level officers of the Federal Garrison cast aside all hesitation.
"Brothers, if the supreme commander is fighting at the vanguard, how can we hold back!"
In an instant, multicolored psychic energies lit up the void. Bear, tiger, leopard—beast-form psychic entities charged out of starships, baring fangs in the vacuum, engaging in the most primal and savage of clashes with the insectoids.
Under Jiang Lijin’s command, the coordination of all fleets reached unprecedented levels.
Outside the starships, the insect tide surged forward, wave after wave, to meet its annihilation.
This war—from the moment the mother insect revealed its coordinates—had already sealed its own fate.
